COLUMBUS, IN – North American truckers ordered 44 percent more trailers year-to-date than over the same period last year, for a total of 179,000.

The start of the second half of 2014 continued to reflect the strength of the first six months with July net orders of 19,280 trailers, up 37 percent year-over-year, according to freight forecasters at ACT Research.

“Although orders declined 12 percent month-over-month, that was in line with seasonal expectations,” said Frank Maly, director, CV Transportation Analysis and Research at ACT.

Cancellations have been on an upward trend over the last few months, Maly said, but they’re not yet at a level of concern. Most trailer categories posted cancellation rates in the low-to-mid single digits.

“Long lead times will continue to be the norm as backlogs currently commit production for the remainder of this year,” Maly said.